* This order and judgment is not binding precedent, e xcept under the

doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, and col lateral estoppel. The court generally disfavors the citation of orders and judg ments; nevertheless, an order and judgment may be cited under the terms and condi tions of 10th Cir. R. 36.3. 

## F I L E D United States Court of Appeals Tenth Circuit 

### NOV 29 2000 

### PATRICK FISHER Clerk UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT

In re: CHARLES G. DICKINSON,

Debtor.

VONNE IRENE TORREZ,

Plaintiff-Appellant, v. CHARLES G. DICKINSON,

Defendant-Appellee. No. 99-1506 (D.C. No. 99-N-126) (D. Colo.)

ORDER AND JUDGMENT *

Before BALDOCK , KELLY , and HENRY , Circuit Judges.

After examining the briefs and appellate record, th is panel has determined unanimously that oral argument would not materiallyassist the determination of this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2); 10th Cir. R. 34.1(G). T he case is therefore ordered submitted without oral argument.-2-

Plaintiff Vonne Irene Torrez appeals the district c ourt’s order affirming a decision of the bankruptcy court denying her clai m that a debt owed to her by defendant, Charles G. Dickinson, the debtor in bankruptcy, should be excepted from discharge in bankruptcy under 11 U.S.C. § 523( a)(6). Plaintiff hired defendant, an attorney, to assist her in paying off a promissory note encumbering property she owned. Plaintiff alleges in her compl aint that defendant advised her to take actions which were not in her best interest , simultaneously represented parties with conflicting interests, and acted negli gently in his representation of her, resulting in the loss of her property to forec losure. Under § 523(a)(6), a debtor is denied discharge from liabilities arisi ng out of his “willful and malicious injury” to another or another’s property. Following a bench trial, the bankruptcy court dismissed her complaint, finding that defendant’s representation of plaintiff was incompetent and unprofessional, but “was not intentionally injurious within the meaning of § 523(a)(6).” Appe llant’s App. at 27. We review the bankruptcy court’s legal determinatio ns de novo and its factual findings for clear error. See Osborn v. Durant Bank & Trust Co. (In re Osborn) , 24 F.3d 1199, 1203 (10th Cir. 1994). We affirm the bankruptcy court’s dismissal of plaintiff’s complaint, but fora reason different than that given by the bankruptcy and district courts.-3-

Defendant has sought to have plaintiff’s complaint dismissed as untimely because it was filed more than sixty days after the first date set for the creditors’ meeting. The time period for filing complaints und er § 523(c) is governed by Fed. R. Bankr. P. 4007(c), which stated, prior to s ubsequent amendment, that “[a] complaint to determine the dischargeability of any debt pursuant to § 523(c) of the Code shall be filed not later than 60 days f ollowing the first date set for the meeting of creditors held pursuant to § 341(a).” E xtension of this sixty-day period may only be granted for cause upon a motion filed before the time has expired. See id . The bankruptcy court may enlarge the time for fi ling a complaint under Rule 4007(c) “only to the extent an d under the conditions stated” in the rule. Fed. R. Bankr. P. 9006(b)(3). Here, defendant filed his voluntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition on July 31, 1996. The first meeting of creditors heldpursuant to § 341 was initially set for September 9, 1996. Because the bankruptcy court failed to mail out notices of the creditors’ meeting, however, the fir st creditors’ meeting was reset for October 7, 1996. Plaintiff received a copy of the notice setting the October 7, 1996 meeting. The notice informed plaintiff that t he bar date for filing a § 523(c) complaint alleging the nondischargeability of any o f defendant’s debts was December 6, 1996, sixty days after the first date s et for the creditors’ meeting.-4-

Due to continuations, the creditors’ meeting was no t actually held until April 18, 1997. Plaintiff filed her § 523(c) complaint on June 12, 1997, more than sixty days after the December 6, 1996 bar date. Plaintif f never filed any requests for extensions of time to file her complaint. Defendan t immediately filed a motion to dismiss plaintiff’s complaint as untimely under Rul e 4007(c). In response, plaintiff argued that Rule 4007(c)’s bar date shoul d be triggered by the date the first creditors’ meeting was actually held, rather than the first date set for the meeting. The bankruptcy court denied defendant’s m otion to dismiss in a minute order. Defendant then filed an interlocutory appea l of that decision with the district court, which was summarily denied. As not ed, the bankruptcy court ultimately dismissed plaintiff’s complaint on the m erits. In response to plaintiff’s appeals, defendant reasserted his argument in both the district court and this court that plaintiff’s complaint was barred under Rule 40 07(c). The district court affirmed the bankruptcy court’s dismissal on the me rits, and concluded that it need not reach the Rule 4007(c) issue. We now conclude that the plaintiff’s complaint was, indeed, untimely filed under Rule 4007(c). Following the literal “f irst date set” language in Rule 4007(c), an “overwhelming majority of courts” have held that the sixty-day limitations period in Rule 4007(c) runs from the date first set for the § 3411 Rule 4007(c) was amended in 1999 to eliminate the w ord “held” and now

reads, “A complaint to determine the dischargeabili ty of a debt under § 523(c) shall be filed no later than 60 days after the firs t date set for the meeting of creditors under § 341(a).” The advisory committee notes state that this amendment was made “to clarify that the deadline fo r filing a complaint to determine the dischargeability of a debt under § 52 3(c) of the Code is 60 days after the first date set for the meeting of credito rs, whether or not the meeting is held on that date [and that t]he time for filing th e complaint is not affected by any delay in the commencement or conclusion of the meeting of creditors.” Fed. R. Bankr. P. 4007(c) (Advisory Committee Notes ). -5- creditors’ meeting, regardless of when the meeting was actually held. 3 Norton Bankr. L. & Prac. § 47:68 (2000) (“overwhelming majority of courts”); see, e.g. , Peerless Ins. Co. v. Miller (In re Miller) , 228 B.R. 399, 401 (B.A.P. 6th Cir. 1999) (collecting cases). 1 We concur that Rule 4007(c) unambiguously provide s that a § 523(c) complaint to determine dischargeabi lity must be filed within sixty days of “the first date set” for the meeting of cre ditors. This court has held that the time limits of Rule 40 07(c) must be “strictly enforced.” Themy v. Yu (In re Themy) , 6 F.3d 688, 689 (10th Cir. 1993). Bankruptcy Rules 4007(c) and 9006(b)(3) “reflect animportant policy or purpose and their enforcement is basic to proper bankruptcy administration.” H.T. Paul Co. v. Atteberry (In re Atteberry) , 194 B.R. 521, 525 (D. Kan. 1996) (quotation omitted). Here, sixty days following the first dat e set for the meeting of creditors was December 6, 1996. Plaintiff had actual notice of that bar date, yet did not file her complaint by that deadline. Nor did she m ove for an extension of time-6-

within which to file her complaint. See Rule 4007(c) and 9006(b)(3). Plaintiff notes that we have recognized that a bankruptcy cou rt has the equitable power under 11 U.S.C. § 105(a) to allow a late-filed comp laint when the bankruptcy court was responsible for affirmatively misleading a litigant. See In re Themy , 6 F.3d at 690. This exception, however, has no app lication here. Thus, plaintiff’s complaint was untimely. Plaintiff contends that defendant waived any object ion to the untimeliness of her complaint by failing to file a cross-appeal asserting this issue. Defendant was not required to file a cross-appeal, however, b ecause an appellee “may defend the judgment won below on any ground supported by the record without filing a cross-appeal.” Tinkler v. United States ex rel. F.A.A. , 982 F.2d 1456, 1461 n.4 (10th Cir. 1992) (quotation omitted). The judgment of the United States District Court fo r the District of Colorado dismissing plaintiff’s complaint is AFF IRMED.

Entered for the Court

Paul J. Kelly, Jr. Circuit Judge